NBA History: 5 greatest duos in the league since 2000

#1 Kobe Bryant & Shaquille O'Neal

Kobe and Shaq continued to trade barbs via interviews and awkward freestyle raps.

Laker legend and then-General Manager Jerry West managed to get both Kobe and Shaq to wear purple-n-gold in what turned out to be a move for the ages. The dynamic coupling of Shaq and Kobe made four trips to the Finals which included a memorable three-peat (only the fourth in NBA history) from 2000 to 2002. Moreover, their 2000-01 playoff campaign posted an NBA history best 15-1 postseason record for their second championship.

The tussle for control over the team continued to grow to the point that their 2004 Finals appearance resulted in the Lakers getting blown out in five games by a cohesive Detroit Pistons squad. As was expected, the Pistons proved to be the antithesis to the star-studded makeup in Hollywood.

Eventually, Shaq was shipped off to Miami and the storied Lakers franchise was handed over to Bryant who later went on to bag a couple of back-to-back rings again in 2009 and 2010. Kobe and Shaq were easily the most dominant one-two punch put together in this century so far, as they played a major role in cementing the Lakers as one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the game.